DAMASCUS — A Syrian official in charge of antiquities says the Daesh (the so-called IS) terrorists have broken into the museum of the ancient town of Palmyra which they have captured days earlier, but have not harmed its contents. Maamoun Abdulkarim, the head of the Antiquities and Museums Department in Damascus, said on Saturday that militants entered the museum in the town's center Friday afternoon, locked the doors and left behind their own guards. The group captured Palmyra in the central province of Homs on Wednesday, raising concerns around the world they would destroy priceless, 2,000-year-old archaeological sites located in the town's south. Experts suspect the group would loot the sites, selling artifacts on the black market. The city's museum and artifacts have been damaged and looted during Syria's four-year civil war. The militants have raised their flag over the ancient citadel in Syria's historic city of Palmyra, pictures posted online overnight by the group's supporters showed. The militants seized the city, also known as Tadmur, after days of fierce fighting with the Syrian army on Wednesday. It has destroyed antiquities and ancient monuments it sees as idolatrous in other cities and there are fears it might now devastate Palmyra, home to renowned Roman-era ruins including well-preserved temples, colonnades and a theatre. Supporters have also posted videos they say show the group's fighters going room to room in government buildings in Palmyra searching for government troops and pulling down pictures of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and his father. Some activists have said more than 200 Syrian soldiers died in the battle for the city. — Agencies
